In a big jump, 33 more Omicron cases in Tamil Nadu

With this, the number of Covid-19 patients infected with the Omicron variant has gone up to 34

Tamil Nadu on Thursday reported a massive spike in the number of people infected with Omicron variant with genomic sequencing of samples of 33 patients, including those with no travel history, confirming that they have been infected with the “variant of concern.”

With this, the number of Covid-19 patients detected with the Omicron variant has gone up to 34, making Tamil Nadu the third state with the highest number of cases following Delhi and Maharashtra. Of the 34 patients, 23 are admitted to the King Institute, four in Madurai, two in Tiruvannamalai, and one in Salem.

One person from Kerala has also tested positive for the Omicron variant, while three patients were discharged from the King Institute on Thursday after treatment. Briefing reporters about the fresh cases, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said that as many as 18,129 persons who returned from foreign countries, including 2,870 persons from “non-risk countries”, were tested on their arrival and the RT-PCR samples of 114 of them returned positive.

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While those from “high-risk countries” are subjected to compulsory RT-PCR tests, 2 per cent random sampling is done among those returning from “mon-risk countries.”

“The State Public Health Laboratory at the Directorate of Public Health (DPH) detected S-gene dropout in 57 samples and they were sent to the Union Government for genomic analysis. As per communication from NIV, Pune, 33 samples were found to be infected with Omicron variant,” Subramanian said.

Principal Secretary (Health) J Radhakrishnan said of the 33 fresh cases, 15 returned from foreign countries, 14 of their contacts, while the remaining four did not have any travel history. The samples of the four persons were sent for genomic sequencing as the SPHL detected S-gene dropout.

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Subramanian and Radhakrishnan said that the Omicron patients are “either asymptomatic or have slight symptoms” and appealed to the people not to panic. “While there is no reason to panic, we should remember to wear a face mask and maintain physical distance. People who aren’t vaccinated yet should get jabbed immediately,” Radhakrishnan said.

With the state reporting a massive spike in Omicron cases, Chief Minister M K Stalin has called for a meeting of medical experts on Friday to discuss the situation. Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu held a video conferencing with district collectors on Thursday to assess the situation.

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